University of Idaho President Scott Green reported that international student enrollment was down over 50% compared to last year during his State of the University Address on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
According to Dana Brolley, the Director of International Student Services at UI, the Trump administration halted all visa interviews on May 27 for 46 weeks.
In this period, which is still on-going, no international students could attend or sign up for interviews. The international students who were admitted in Fall 2025 had applied before this cut off. The 46 weeks will end in mid-April.
In addition, U.S. Department of State employees are required to perform a more in-depth review of each international student, according to Brolley. These stricter requirements have forced current international students to reapply for their visas.
UI faculty and staff, including International Programs Office staff, are doing what they can to help international students, according to Brolley.
IPO helps international students maintain their immigration status and acclimate to the United States.
“I call this like their second family, because they don’t have anyone close by … just being a student is hard, so we’re here to provide them with that,” said Brolley.
According to the U.S. Department of State, international students from five of Idaho’s universities contributed $75 million to the Idaho economy in 2023-2024.
“Right now, there’s a state budget deficit and the decline in our international students will hurt everyone, truly,” Brolley said.
This year, UI was impacted by a $2 million cut to Idaho higher education and an additional $5 million cut to its annual budget.
According to Brolley, more information on the number of current international students will be made available in October when the university census is released.
Scarlet Herway can be reached at [email protected].